Tia Ballard

Ballard voices Shao May, the small panda who travels everywhere with the Xingese alchemist May Chang in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. The character communicates mostly through animal sounds and reactions rather than dialogue, biting or lashing out at anyone who threatens her companion. It is a largely non-verbal, comedic supporting role that contrasts with the more dramatic, dialogue-heavy parts Ballard is known for elsewhere in anime dubbing. The role placed her in the extended cast surrounding the Xing storyline that runs through Brotherhood's later arcs.

Ballard has built a long career voicing spirited, often comedic characters, including Happy the flying cat in Fairy Tail, the exuberant Eris in Cat Planet Cuties, and Nanami Momozono in Kamisama Kiss. She later took on the moody clone-girl lead Zero Two for Darling in the Franxx, played the fourth quintuplet Itsuki Nakano in The Quintessential Quintuplets, and voiced the yokai Yashiro Nene for Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun, on top of earlier parts like Mizore Shirayuki in Rosario + Vampire and Kusano in Sekirei. Beyond performing, she has also worked as an ADR director, helping shape the English-language casts of other anime productions.